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Hockey stars lost in flames

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A Russian airliner carrying one of that nation’s premier hockey teams — and loaded with ex-NHL players — yesterday slammed into the Volga River seconds after takeoff, killing almost everyone aboard.

At least 43 people — including almost the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team — died in a ball of flames near the city of Yaroslavl, about 150 miles from Moscow.

The Yak Service charter carried 45 people: 37 passengers and eight crew members.

On board were two coaches and 27 Lokomotiv Yaroslav players, including several Rangers, Islanders and Devils alumni.

Among them were assistant coach Alexander Karpovtsev, who played on the Rangers squad that won the 1994 Stanley Cup, making him and three teammates the first Russians to have their names engraved on the iconic trophy.

“This is the darkest day in the history of our sport,” said International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel.

Air-traffic controllers said the plane wasn’t going fast enough when it took off under clear, sunny skies at about 4:05 p.m. The pilot could have safely aborted, but kept going, witnesses said.

The plane clipped a radio antenna and got about 100 yards airborne before going down.

“Everyone in the controller section saw the final seconds before the catastrophe,” controller Ari Novik told the Russian news Web site Lifenews.com. “The airliner took very long to gain momentum, apparently didn’t achieve the speed needed for takeoff.”

Coached by Canadian-born Brad McCrimmon — a veteran of 17 NHL seasons — the team was headed to the capital of Belaraus for its Kontinental Hockey League season opener tonight against Dinamo Minsk.

Two survivors — team forward Alexander Galimov, 26, and flight attendant Alexander Sizov — were clinging to life yesterday. Galimov was in critical condition with burns over 80 percent of his body.

The Russian standout is a close friend of Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin.

“I played with him when I was a little kid and again on the national team,’’ a shaken Ovechkin said at his NHL team’s practice facility. “It’s kind of a scary moment, a whole national tragedy.’’

The Russian-made plane, a Yak-42, was built in 1993.

In June, the European Union’s air-travel regulatory agency blacklisted the Yak-42 from landing at EU airports after the manufacturer refused to share safety records, according to Russian news reports.

In 2009, the European Safety Agency ranked Yak Service last for safety out of 35 Russian airlines that fly to Europe. Russia — with 121 people dead in seven crashes this year — this year is the most dangerous country for air travel.